Idea for ZT low rider

[STR]

I don't have anymore ZT knives to try this with. My son somehow ended up with all those and now has my 551 Elmax also which was the last one I had in the way of Zero Tolerance folders on the premises. I've had a lot requests over time for Skyline low riders and other various ZT folders and I know some of you out there want something else at times but the problem was the hole spacing. Now don't get your hopes up or anything as I don't know if this is is feasible or even worth messing with but wanted to bring it forward. Thing is, I found this set of pics from a few years back for a knife I did. Its funny how you forget stuff you've done really but I guess thats getting old or part of it. Don't get me started! Anyway, Imagine with your ZT if you want a fold over style clip a similar situation to this here that I did for a Tyrade I once owned and never should have sold. On some models with enough room on the handle, something that should not be a big issue for these bigger knives I'd think but it depends on the clip position, could be we'd be able to set the screws to the side similar to this here. Let me know your thoughts if any and if no interest well, its just a thought. This clip shown here was solid and worked very well. No issues at all with how it held as I recall. It was also quite comfortable in the hand. It never dawned on me that perhaps on some models of the ZT that we could design something that possibly could set a new clip somewhere still within tolerance so to speak for positioning and allowing lanyards to work and so on.


STR

 

[edge927]

I like it! I would definitely be interested in something like that.

 

[amflud]

What a coincidence. I started a thread at the Kershaw/ZT subforum last night inquiring about a low ride clip for my KS1000, which has the Skyline style clip. Seems options are nonexistant.

 

[sweet_hitch-hiker]

i have an idea that's so good that i think should get a prototype of it for testing on my 0551.

okay for something like on the pm.... you have the clip narrow, and the holes wide.... you screw the screws in outside of the actual clip

but on my zt 0551, the screws are very close together. so what if on the top of the clip, you made holes in the clip so you screw 'through' the clip instead of around it. tomorrow i'll make an example out of cardboard or something to show you what i mean, but it think it'll work great.

 

[STR]

No need. I've done it and I've done exactly what you say but the problem is its very difficult without a robot machine to drill holes and fold that clip so the holes all line up over each other. Drilling the holes after folding the clip to do the 180 is also problematic unless you have proper ways to support the folded clip. In short its not repeatable with hand tools doing this by hand. If I did one I'd have to be prepared to do 1000 and I'm not doing that difficult of a clip with that much waste from scrapped attempts because holes don't line up. There is the problem of the burr formed when drilling and access becomes quite hard to do once there is a fold made so all your holes have to be done and finished on both sides reamed of bur before you heat it to fold it when making them this way. If you miss the line, which disappears when it heats to red hot and if you miss the mark which happens quite a bit the way I do these you end up with a plus or minus variance of about 1mm which I tell everyone I work within or try to. If you are off that much doing a clip the way you suggest you can't insert the screw to the bottom hole or line up the driver to hit the head square and stuff like that. Its a general pain in the behind and that is why I put all my holes outside on wings. I'm not doing pass through clips been there done that talked about it in numerous threads and its just not feasible.

 

[amflud]

I was wondering why I hadn't seen any pass through low ride clips for the narrow screw pattern. That's precisely what I was hoping to find.

 

[STR]

You'd have to have a jig set up so that when the clip blank was inserted after coming out of the oven or flame that it only fit one way held in place in the exact same spot each time everytime so there is no guess work to the fold over that way. Unfortunately I don't have a jig set up for individual clips but one I did that is more universal to cover the entire industry. As a result it leaves space so the clips can move if I don't steady it. I know this is hard to picture but the bottom line is for this type of application all that work to make a specific jig for a clip that may make a very few amount of actual clips its not really feasible. It would have to be for much more volume than a few custom clips so I hope that covers it. Its not that I can't do them. Heck I've done them and you can see pics of the pass through clips from yesteryear out there on the web but I really like narrower clips over wider and part of that is the height factor. When you take into account that the low rider stands up higher to begin with and add in now a width it makes for this massive looking piece standing up off the folder at times. I find I like the more subtle narrow less profound or less overwhelming looking clips personally.

Here is a pass through I did a few years ago. I did like the first 20 or so of these style clips for Brian Felhoulter when he was needing one. The problem was consistency as I had no reason to have to make each one identical with those first ones as Brian found one he liked. After that and when he wanted them to be the same was when it changed things. I am just not set up to accommodate that level of precision for one clip pattern. It was not long before he was off doing them himself though as for him it was worth the effort to find a way to repeat them one after the other and I believe he still uses this pattern on his knives, or at least some of them after we came up with it together. So I can do them but they are just not as easy for me to do with the backyard set up of a hobbyist.

 

[amflud]

Its perfectly understandable. I'm sure if it was something that was easily accomplished with your set up then you would have no problem making them, especially since there are so many of us that would like one.

I agree, the wider the clip is the less appealing it would be.

Nice looking pics of your work, by the way.